Messages posted by : Wanderer
` Must be one big Landrover :lol: |
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Challenging but possible I think is the answer to your query.
One of the biggest challenges you may find is getting people to definitely commit and to do so quickly when you have only indicative prices, flights, etc. There is little point finding cheap flights and then taking a week to establish if this is acceptable to everybody in the group (by which time they will probably have gone)! I would suggest that you would need to be quite dictatorial with the group in this respect but be careful - you do not want to lose friends, especially skiing friends. Also, be aware that things like free places for groups, free or heavily discounted places for kids can mean that tour operators prices are very competitive and may be hard to beat on price. On accommodation, you will probably have to do a lot of chasing - the ski welt area has loads but not a lot of big apartment blocks ala Pierre et Vacance in the French resorts where you could simply book 3/4/5 apartments in one block. On the other hand a guaranteed booking for 18 (without agents commission!) should be attractive. If I were you, I would not confine myself to Ellmau, Soll has probably a bigger selection of accommodation - I stayed in the Bergland Hotel in January, very nice hotel, nice food and very close to gondola (though price reflects all this). I know some friends who organised a large group (c. 35) to Soll independently a year or two ago. They went during half term and main advantage was that they did not get stung for the premium charged by tour operators for that period. Good luck. |
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Had a quick look at Tiscover website and the area comes up as closed alright (a look at one of the webcams suggests that the weather is bad so maybe it is just a temporary closure), though the snow report does suggest that the snow is excellent!!!
If it is closed for the season rather than just temporarily due to bad weather, Kitzbuhel is quite close (maybe half an hour or so in a car). Obviously, it would be a pain travelling back and forward each day so you might be better off checking to see if you can change your arrangements. If you have booked with a tour operator, I would get on to them to find out what is going on - there is no way they should be taking a ski booking for a resort that is closed - they might be able/prepared to move you to another resort. Good luck. |
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Lucky man! The tourist office has a good accommodation search facility. See
http://www.stantonamarlberg.com/winter/ViewPage.asp?Site=STANTON2-WINTER&PageID=206&lang=201 On a short stay, you should probably try to stay in the main part of the village to give you good access to the slopes. The skiing is generally very good but I can't remember specific runs. The Mooserwirt is a pub a little bit up the mountain that is great for apres ski from 4pm onwards though be careful skiing down if you have too many beers!!! |
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Generally, I try to avoid drags. Like some of the other posters, I prefer to use my energy skiing. My aversion to them also has to do with a bad experience the first time I went skiing. Half way up a rarely used drag with a poor surface, I fell off and was left in the middle of nowhere with no way down. Luckily a kind stranger jumped off and gave me directions to a blue slope nearby.
On the other hand....... a few years ago on a bad weather day with high winds in Meribel, virtually all the chairs and gondolas were closed and most people were just giving up. A couple of us went ski guiding with the Crystal rep - he knew all the drags and we were able to ski virtually the entire area in fresh snow with almost nobody on the mountain. It was a fantastic ski day against the odds and all due to the availability of drags. On balance, I still don't particularly like them but they can have their uses! |
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In my opinion St Anton has got to be one of the best, if not the best, ski resort in Europe! The ski area is extensive and varied (though limited for beginners but that is clearly not an issue for you Tony!). I was there a couple of years ago at Easter and it was great - a bit slushy low down later in day but still superb up higher. Even got some fresh powder!
The village is quite big but full of Tyrollian charm. Apres ski is as good as it gets - Mooserwirt a little bit up the mountain is great fun for a pint at days end. I am madly jealous - go for it and enjoy! |
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Wow! I really generated some heat with this question and the responses are really interesting, if a little tetchy at times!.
It seems to me that I have inadvertently touched on a more fundamental issue that skiers have been avoiding for years - should skiers wear helmets full stop! We have moved to a situation where few parents would dream of letting their kids out on the slopes without a helmet. Yet we continue to resist wearing them ourselves. I think we are beginning to see a change of attitudes in this regard. A few years ago, it was only racers and serious off-piste skiers that wore helmets - now an increasing number of recreational skiers are doing so. Ise is absolutely right that a proper ski helmet is probably an essential piece of kit if you want to protect yourself. This is particularly the case where you are engaging in more advanced, and therefore, potentially more dangerous, forms of skiing. The dilemma is that most recreational, on-piste, skiers do not feel that they are at serious risk and prefer not to wear helmets. This goes to the heart of personal choice and the personal responsibility that we all have to assume on the mountains. Nevertheless, it undoubtedly does still entail taking a risk that some would argue, with some legitimacy, is unnecessary. For my own part, I now recognise that the cycle helmet option is a distraction - the real issue is whether we opt to wear proper ski helmets or else accept the risk of not doing so! Having bumped my head twice in the past month in relatively minor falls on the piste (giving myself a mild concussion on the second occasion last week in whiteout conditions), I think I am increasingly becoming persuaded of the merits of helmets (incidentally, I was struck by Ellestine's comment about "feeling naked without a helmet" - I feel the same way about the seatbelt in the car, which was once an optional extra!). I suspect this debate will go on and on and each person will have to make up their own mind. As for bicycle helmets, I think I agree with Ise - if you are going to wear a helmet, wear a proper one! If nothing else, bicyle helmets look a bit silly on the slopes! |
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Caron-a
Tough luck on the knees -I hope you make a full and quick recovery and are bounding down the slopes next year. Remember Hermann Maier was told there was a good chance he would never walk again after a motorbike accident - two years later, he was back skiing at the highest level! Glad to hear you are going - I am sure you will have a great time even though there will be moments when it is hard looking out at the mountains but not getting out there. Not skiing will give you the opportunity to relax - there is a lovely new swimming pool in Tignes Le Lac that you might want to visit a few times, perhaps enjoy a few massages. Maybe visit the ice cave up on the Grande Motte. I liked the earlier idea of your friends setting silly tasks to be achieved during the day - sounds like fun. Above all, not skiing yourself will let you give your kids lots of attention. Enjoy (as best you can!) |
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